It was a quiet day on the main index of the Toronto Stock Exchange after Canadian markets resumed trading Tuesday following the long weekend.
The S&P/TSX composite index, which was closed Monday for the Civic Holiday, edged down 1.62 points to 15,256.35.
“Holiday trading … there’s a lack of news for sure,” said Luc de la Durantaye, managing director of CIBC Asset Management, of the TSX’s flat performance. “You get into a bit of lull in terms of economic data and sidelined until the next important numbers.”
The market’s attention has now turned to a series of U.S. inflation data set to be released later in the week, de la Durantaye said. The July producer price index comes out Thursday and the consumer price index for the same month is released on Friday.
On Wall Street, U.S. indices veered lower Tuesday, ending a 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. The Dow, which had set a record high close Monday, fell 33.08 points to 22,085.34.
The S&P 500 composite index, which also hit a record high Monday, slipped 5.99 points to 2,474.92, while the Nasdaq composite index gave back 13.31 points to 6,370.46.
In currency markets, the Canadian dollar continued its recent dip, trading at US78.91¢, down 0.22 of a U.S. cent from Friday’s average price. The loonie had been trading above US80¢ earlier last week.
De la Durantaye said the loonie “had gone too far, too fast,” since the Bank of Canada increased its key benchmark interest rate last month, its first hike in close to seven years.
Strong U.S. jobs numbers has also strengthened the greenback, he added. Last Friday’s numbers showed the American economy added 209,000 jobs last month, topping market expectations of 183,000 new jobs.
Elsewhere in commodities, the September crude contract declined US22¢ from Monday to US$49.17 a barrel, while September natural gas advanced US2¢ at US$2.82 per mmBTU.
December gold was down US$2.10 to US$1,262.60 an ounce and September copper was up US4¢ at US$2.94 a pound.